Fred Armisten and Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater Kinney) have a new show coming up on IFC called Portlandia. This skit Feminist Bookstore is a favorite. Props to Minnie for her monotonous job drawing attention to this early.

Image via Robert Killips, Associated Press
The inspiration for Rosie the Riveter, the poster of which I bought at the ripe old age of 7 at the Smithsonian Gift Shop like a super-cool kid, Geraldine Doyle, died at the age of 86. “‘Rosie the Riveter’ is the image of an independent woman who is control of her own destiny. She was a gracious, beautiful woman. Her death is the end of an era, and we need to take note of that. We need to respect what she stood for”, said Gladys Beckwith, the former director of the Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame.

My next life-goal is to go to all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s homes. Wendy McClure did just that for her book The Wilder Life (nice title), retracing the journey that Laura Ingalls and her family took across America throughout the series, “immersing herself in all things Little House, and explores the story from fact to fiction, and from the TV shows to the annual summer pageants in Laura’s hometowns. Whether she’s churning butter in her apartment or sitting in a replica log cabin, McClure is always in pursuit of ‘the Laura experience.’ Along the way she comes to understand how Wilder’s life and work have shaped our ideas about girlhood and the American West.”
P.S. Fun fact: Lauren was named after Laura and has been to many (all?) of her homes. Some of us are luckier than others.

Playboy is putting together the classiest of coffee-table books that will consist of some of their greatest covers. Makes one wonder why they hadn’t jumped on that bandwagon earlier, when we all know that they have been making puzzles of their centerfolds for some time.

In other news, Penthouse founder Bob Guccione died on Wednesday after a long battled with Lung Cancer. He was 79. Started a little more than a decade after Playboy, Guccione wanted to create a more explicit version of the men’s magazine, and often faced even more outcry than Playboy for his choice. So how does The New York Times choose to commemorate his life? By ending his obituary with the following passage:

“Creditors foreclosed on the Guccione mansion, and he moved out in 2006. (Penthouse magazine, however, is still being published.) Dozens of items from the town house — fireplace mantels, marble columns, even a circular staircase — were auctioned off by a Connecticut gallery in 2009 for a fraction of their presale estimates, with the proceeds going to a charity. ‘Kind of gaudy,’ said Dave Kerr, a prospective buyer looking skeptically over the lot. ‘It wouldn’t work in our house. I guess he lived a different lifestyle.'”

What a lovely way to finish a retrospective of someones life; commenting on the ugly nature of their belongings.